01 · The Loop
The river Chicago reversed
In 1900, engineers made this river run the other way.
In the 19th century, Chicago dumped sewage into the river, which carried it into Lake Michigan, the city's drinking-water source.
Source: WikipediaCity preview · Chicago
A reversed river, steel,
and hidden experiments
Chicago often reveals itself through audacious changes: engineers reversed a river, a grounded boat grew into valuable land, the first controlled nuclear chain reaction hid beneath stadium stands, and a newspaper tower set fragments of the world into its walls.
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Four Chicago footnotes
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02 · Streeterville
The neighborhood built from a wreck
Streeterville began with Captain Streeter's stranded steamboat.
In 1886, George Streeter's steamboat grounded on a Lake Michigan sandbar.
Source: Wikipedia
03 · Hyde Park
The new age under the stands
The first controlled nuclear chain reaction occurred beneath a stadium.
On December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi's team brought Chicago Pile-1 to criticality in a squash court under the university's football stands. It was humanity's first controlled nuclear chain reaction and a beginning of the Manhattan Project.
Source: Wikipedia
04 · Magnificent Mile
The world in a tower wall
The Great Wall, the Parthenon, and the Moon are set into this facade.
Tribune publisher Robert McCormick asked foreign correspondents to bring back stones from around the world.
Source: WikipediaAll images on this page are City Whisper editorial illustrations, not historical photographs, news photographs, or evidence.
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